Storm
by Hazydestiny
Summary: The rangers, past and present, face a new evil - but not so new for Andros.  Can he face the darkness in his past in time to prevent the destruction of the Power Rangers?


_Disclaimer: You know the drill. The Power Rangers don't belong to me; they belong to the great and powerful Saban. I just borrow them to satisfy my imagination. The characters you're just meeting are mine – please ask before you use them._

_Author's notes: This story has been in the works for a long time, and it's really precious to me. So please, please take the time to review. Thanks. A special thanks to my darling Ivydraken, without whose help and inspiration this story wouldn't exist. _

**Chapter One – Reunion**

"Justin, over here!" Rosa DeSantos called, jumping up to see through the crowd. She spotted her friend trying to push a path through the mass of people that filled Angel Grove Park. He caught sight of her and waved.

"Did you find him?" Franklin Park asked as she spread out the picnic blanket. She nodded, giving him a bright smile.

Franklin sat down, and Rosa set herself as close to him as possible without it seeming weird. She was trying not to blatantly give away her feelings, while at the same time fishing for some hope that they could move past the brother/sister relationship they'd had since childhood. Franklin, however, just gave her a smile and grabbed a soda from the cooler. "It's hot out today."

She nodded again. "Totally hot." She tried inching a bit closer to grab her own soda, but was interrupted by a tug on her ponytail.

"Am I interrupting something?" Jenna Hammond asked, laughter in her voice. She couldn't help but grin as she looked at the pair – Rosa gazed wistfully at Franklin, who was completely oblivious. _So like a boy._ She set the basket she was carrying down and joined her friends on the picnic blanket. "What a madhouse!"

"Power Ranger Appreciation Day always is," Franklin replied.

"Hey guys," Justin said, a bit out of breath as he joined them. The girl he was with released his hand and looked around, seeming a bit dazed. Justin smiled. "I want you to meet someone. This is Ivory Scott. She just moved to Angel Grove."

Jenna moved aside, making room. "Welcome to our crazy city! I'm Jenna and this is Franklin and Rosa. Have a seat." She gestured to the blanket, and Ivory and Justin sat down. "So, where are you from?"

"Oh, just Santa Ana. Not too far." Ivory replied, returning the girl's friendly smile.

"Well, it's always nicer to move someplace close – Rosa and I came here from Stone Canyon," Franklin said. "How'd you meet Justin?"

"The accelerated learning camp at school."

Justin grinned. "Ivory's going to be a senior with me this year."

"Ah, another genius," Rosa said. "All of us lowlifes are only going to be sophomores."

Justin shrugged. "It's not your fault you're slow." He laughed as Jenna hit him with her water bottle.

A sarcastic voice spoke from behind them. "Oh, is the nerd patrol recruiting?"

Rosa rolled her eyes. "Don't you have a mall to raid? Preferably one far, far away."

The pretty girl ignored the remark as she shoved Justin aside and sat down next to Ivory. "Hi, I'm Allie Hart. You're new, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm Ivory," she replied coolly.

"So why are you hanging out with these losers? They may look normal, but trust me when I say they'll totally damage your social life. Like forever." Ivory stifled a smile as Franklin stuck his tongue out at the snobbish girl's back. "You should come sit with my friends and I. I am, after all, president of the dance committee and captain of the junior varsity cheerleading squad."

"Co-captain," Jenna remarked dryly. "I'm the other captain, remember?"

Allie shot her a glare, then returned her attention to Ivory. "You also may have heard of my sister, Kimberly Hart? She won a gold at the Pan Globals last year, and is now training with the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team."

"Sorry, no. Don't really follow that," Ivory replied.

"Well, I have a lot of connections, and you look like a girl of culture. Lose this trash. I'm sure you'd totally fit on my blanket." She gave the girl a sickeningly sweet smile.

Ivory took Justin's hand, much to the boy's surprise and Allie's dismay. "Oh, I'm sure I'd fit in fine. But I'd much rather hang out with my friends. So why don't you go back to your little socialites and I'll stay here. I really prefer talking to people with substance."

After a moment of shock at her invitation's refusal, Allie shrugged. "Whatever you want. As long as you remember, this was your golden opportunity and you really blew it! So say goodbye to your social life, loser." She got up and began to walk away.

Ivory stood up. "Oh Allie?" The girl turned with a smug smile, obviously expecting a change of heart. "Just wanted to let you know, I never did j.v. - I went straight to varsity. Maybe you've heard of us – Mater Dei? National champions since 1993? Course, I can't take credit for the first two victories, I've only been on the team since '95." Allie's mouth dropped open, and Ivory gave her a sweet smile. "Maybe we'll talk when you move up the chain a bit."

"Ooo, burn!" Jenna exclaimed.

Allie glared at the group for a moment, then turned on her heel and marched away. Ivory sat down again. "What a bitch!"

The other four burst into laughter. "That was awesome!" Franklin exclaimed.

Rosa grinned. "Well, welcome the nerd patrol. Sure you want to hang out with those who will damage your social life forever?"

"Hey, I just moved here, I don't want to end up in jail for murder!" Ivory smiled. "After a day with her, I'd have to find a way to shut her up!" The group dissolved into laughter once more.

"Well, you are definitely welcome to hang out with us anytime," Jenna said, squeezing Ivory's hand.

Ivory smiled. "I would love to."

A familiar voice rang out over the crowd. "Hey, short stuff!"

"TJ!" Justin cried. He bolted up and ran to the group of older teens, who embraced him warmly. "When did you get back?" he asked.

"Only a few days ago. We'll tell you all about it later," Ashley said.

"But…" Cassie flashed her morpher, and Justin's eyes widened.

"You found him?" he asked excitedly. He was completely baffled when they all shook their heads. "Then how?"

Ashley pulled Andros forward. "This is Andros. He helped us out a lot." She shook her head as Justin opened his mouth to ask another question. "We'll talk later. This isn't the place."

He nodded and smiled again at his friends. "Man, I missed you guys!"

Cassie hugged him tightly. "We missed you, too!" She smiled. "We're yours for a little while, then we have to make an appearance."

"Come sit with us!" Grabbing Cassie's hand, he dragged her over to the blanket. The others followed, laughing.

"Hey squirt," Ashley said to her sister.

Jenna glared at her. "So I see you're back from your fabulous vacation. Did you have fun?"

"Lots," Carlos said, smiling at the younger girl. He reached down to tug on one of her braids, and she smiled dreamily back.

"Ivory, I want you to meet my friends," Justin said. "This is Ashley, Carlos, TJ, Cassie, and Andros. Guys, this is our new friend, Ivory. She just moved here."

They all smiled at her. "Welcome to Angel Grove. How do you like it?" Cassie asked as she spread out their blanket.

"It's nice so far. But I feel kind of strange being at a picnic for the power rangers when I haven't even seen them yet."

"Well today's your lucky day. The power rangers always make an appearance at the picnic," Rosa said. "Though they haven't really been around this summer."

Ashley smiled. "I'm sure they'll show up."

Jenna grinned. "I like the red one. He's hot!" TJ choked on his soda as his friends stifled laughs.

"He's wearing a helmet, you dweeb!" Rosa said, swatting her best friend on the arm.

"Well, I can tell these things. I'm very insightful." Everyone laughed.

Ashley smirked at the former red ranger. "I'm sure he's quite hot, Jen." TJ gave her a glare.

Andros, oblivious to the gaiety, was looking around at the excitement. Food, games, entertainment…they had everything here! "They do all this for the power rangers?"

Franklin nodded. "We like to thank them for all the lives they've saved. If it wasn't for them, this entire town would have been destroyed years ago. Probably the planet as well."

Andros gave an unimpressed shrug. "It's their duty."

"Duty or not, they put their lives on the line every day," spoke a new voice.

The group of teens turned and looked up at the three young men standing behind them. Justin's face lit up. "Tommy!"

"Hey kiddo!" Tommy returned the strong hug with a smile.

"Adam, Rocky!" Justin hugged them both. "Come on, sit with us!"

"Sounds good to me," Rocky replied with a smile. "I happen to know that Rosa really packed that picnic basket."

Rosa stuck her tongue out at her brother. "That's for my friends. If you wanted food you should've brought it yourself."

Rocky gave her an evil grin. "Bet I know how to get it out of you." He grabbed his sister and started tickling her. The occupants of the blanket quickly moved away from her flailing arms and legs.

"Stop it, you jerk!" Rosa squealed, struggling to get away. Her friends watched the pair, cracking up.

"Say you'll give me some!" he commanded.

"I'll give you some, I'll give you some!"

Rocky only grinned, tickling harder. "And Adam and Tommy?"

"Whatever! Just stop!" He finally released her, leaning down to kiss her cheek. She glared at him as she held her side, gasping for air.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the amazing communication skills of the DeSantos family," Adam joked as they all settled down again.

Ivory raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you're Rocky DeSantos?" She looked towards Tommy. "So you must be the infamous Tommy Oliver!"

Justin looked over, surprised. "How do you know Tommy?"

The long-haired man looked over at her. "We've met before, haven't we? You do look really familiar."

She smiled. "Not in person, but Jason talks about you so much I feel like we have." She held out her hand. "I'm Ivory Scott. Jason's my cousin."

"Oh, you're Ivory!" Tommy surprised them all by leaning over to wrap her in a hug. "I was really sorry to hear about your parents. I've met your dad, he was a good man."

"What happened to your parents?" Jenna asked.

Justin shot Jenna a look while sliding his arm around Ivory, who had taken a sudden interest in the picnic blanket. "My parents died about a month ago. In a car crash."

They looked at her in shock. "God, I'm sorry," Jenna said. "I'm an inconsiderate ass."

Ivory shrugged. "It's okay, you didn't know."

Rosa leaned over and hugged her. "My dad died too. It's tough."'

Ivory nodded. "Yeah."

Tommy looked around for a way to get the group's attention off the grieving girl. "So Teej, how was your summer?"

"Kinda crazy, but productive," TJ replied. He flicked his wrist slightly, and the three older men grinned.

"See you've had a change of wardrobe," Adam observed.

TJ shrugged. "Blue seems to fit me better." He gestured to the silent young man sitting next to him. "This is Andros. We met him while we were traveling, and he happened to be missing a group. Andros, meet Tommy Oliver, Adam Park, and Rocky DeSantos." He grinned. "They're hard to live up to, but they taught us a lot."

Andros held out his hand, actually giving them a smile. "It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard quite a bit about you."

Rocky grinned at TJ, Cassie, Carlos and Ashley. "Guys, I'm so touched. I didn't realize we meant that much to you!"

Cassie looked bewildered. "Actually, we never mentioned you."

"No, we have a few mutual friends. From Triforia, Aquitar, a few other locations?"

The young men's eyes widened, just as Franklin asked. "Where's that?"

Ashley quickly jumped in. "Um, Andros is a big traveler. He's been all over the place."

Adam grinned. "Well, we'll have to get together sometime and trade stories."

Franklin shook his head. "You guys are so weird. Sometimes I swear you're talking in code, like you're hiding some big secret."

Rosa laughed. "Please, Rocky couldn't keep a secret if his lips were glued shut!" This statement sent a wave of laughter over the group.

"Hey!" Rocky protested. "I'm a good secret keeper!"

"Really?" Rosa said with an evil grin. "What about the time I was in kindergarten…" Rocky flushed bright red as Adam began to crack up.

"Not fair!" Rocky cried.

"Oh, now we've got to hear it!" Tommy said with a grin. "Continue, Rosa."

Andros watched the laughing group as if from a distance. A memory of a very similar group of friends was creeping into his mind, but he violently pushed it away. "_That part of my life is over! My purpose now is to defeat Dark Spectre. No distractions." _He moved away quickly as Ashley placed her hand on his arm, ignoring the hurt look she flashed him.

As the friends continued to catch up, Justin grabbed Ashley's wrist. "Ash, can I talk to you?" he asked quietly.

"Sure!" She stood up and followed him a bit away from the group. "What's up?"

"Well, I wanted to ask your advice. See, there's this girl that I really like, and I…um…well, I don't know how to ask her out."

"So you came to me? Justin, that's so sweet!" She smiled brightly at him, and he blushed. "Ok, I need to ask a couple of questions first. How well do you know this girl?"

"Pretty well, I think." He could feel his cheeks burning. "We're good friends."

"Do you know what she likes?"

"Yeah, I do. I mean, I hang out with her all the time." He sighed. _"Come on, Justin. Just say you want to ask her sister out! Be a man!"_

"It's Ivory, isn't it? You two seem really close." She looked at the small group and smiled. "Well, she is very pretty. And Jason seems really cool, the few times I've met him anyway. Of course, he's probably…"

"Ash!" She looked at him in surprise but it stopped her babbling. "It's not Ivory. I mean, she is awesome. But the reason we're close is because I'm trying to help her get through a tough time. I've been there, I remember how I felt when I lost my mom. But really, we're just friends."

"Then who is it?" the older girl asked curiously. She added hastily. "Of course, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

He sighed again. "Jenna," he mumbled.

"What?" she asked. The wind was beginning to pick up, making it harder to hear.

"It's…" he was cut off by a loud crack that made them jump. They looked at each other and quickly ran back to the group.

"What was that?" Franklin asked as they rose to their feet.

"It sounded like thunder, but that's not possible! There's not a cloud…" He trailed off as Adam pointed up. Huge black clouds were rapidly forming above their heads.

"I don't know what kind of storms you get in Angel Grove, but I've never seen clouds like that before!" Ivory yelled over the heightening wind.

"You're right. Something weird is going on here!" Ashley replied, exchanging a look with her fellow rangers.

The park quickly emptied around them. After years of experience, the people of Angel Grove knew when to clear out. The 13 teens stood at the ready, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly there was a flash, and they were surrounded by armored warriors. Ivory and Jenna each gave a little yelp and jumped back.

"Quantrons! What the hell are they doing here?" TJ growled.

"Friends of yours?" Rosa asked sarcastically.

"Justin, you guys go get help! We'll keep these tin cans in the park!" Cassie yelled, kicking a quantron away.

Justin hesitated. He desperately wanted to stay and fight, but he knew the rangers couldn't morph with civilians around. "Right! Rosa, Franklin, Jenna, Ivory – let's go!"

"And leave these guys alone to fight them off? I don't think so!" Franklin replied, delivering a lethal combination of kicks and jabs to an unlucky quantron.

"Go! We can handle this!" Tommy ordered, using his "leader voice". Confident and strict, it was rare that others chose to disobey him.

The younger group pushed away from the quantrons and ran out of the park. However, just as they reached the street there was a purple flash. When it cleared they found themselves surrounded by cloaked figures.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Jenna asked as the strangers converged on them.

"Dunno, but they're obviously not here to help!" Justin replied, sweeping one's feet out from under him as he punched another.

"This isn't the best way to welcome people here to Angel Grove!" Ivory yelled, delivering a powerful spin kick.

Despite the skill of the five teens, the odds were two to one against them. As soon as the mysterious figures had hold of them there was another purple flash, and the entire group disappeared.

**Next time, on Power Rangers: **The Phantom Ranger faced the former Turbo Rangers. "I am here to warn you of a new enemy who has recently been seen in the proximity of Earth. A much more dangerous opponent than Astronema."


End file.
